FOX 9 Documentary details Marvin Haynes’ conviction and exoneration
'I am Innocent': The Marvin Haynes Story
The true crime documentary details how a 16-year-old boy was convicted of murder after a flower shop robbery in Minneapolis. Marvin Haynes was exonerated nearly twenty years later when eyewitness testimony, and the police investigation itself, started to unravel.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Watch now: FOX 9 spent months interviewing Marvin Haynes, his family, attorneys, and prosecutors as part of a documentary. The documentary "I am Innocent" aired Sunday night and is now available to view on-demand in the player above.
Minneapolis murder remains unsolved after Marvin Haynes’ exoneration
The backstory: Marvin Haynes was just 16 years old when he was arrested and charged with murder in May 2004. Randy Sherer was killed during a robbery at Jerry’s Flower Shop in Minneapolis. There was no physical evidence connecting Haynes to the crime. Police did not find surveillance video, fingerprints, or a murder weapon. But eyewitnesses identified Haynes, who maintained his innocence during the police interrogation, and his nearly 20 years in prison.
READ MORE: Marvin Haynes walked out of prison 1 year ago. His exoneration led to change.
Last year, a Hennepin County judge granted Haynes an evidentiary review hearing which allowed the Great North Innocence Project to challenge his conviction in court. Legal experts and even the lead detective on the case testified during the hearing that Minneapolis Police repeatedly failed during the investigation in 2004 and violated policies related to eyewitness testimony.
What they’re saying: Judge William Koch found the eyewitness testimony used to convict Haynes was unconstitutional.
"It is doubtful there would have been sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction," Koch wrote at the time.
Haynes and his attorneys celebrated his release from prison in December 2023.
Minneapolis police have not re-opened the investigation into Randy Sherer’s murder.
What’s next: Haynes spent his first year out of prison advocating at the state capitol. The legislature passed new laws that will change police interrogations of juveniles and make it easier to review convictions when new evidence is presented.
Haynes is now eligible for up to $2 million in restitution for the time he spent in prison.